City Stars Support NuRock Ownership Group During League Transition
September 9, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Cleveland City Stars News Release
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland City Stars are excited about the future of the United Soccer Leagues with last week's announcement of the sale of the USL from Nike to NuRock Soccer Holdings.
NuRock Soccer Holdings, based in Atlanta, is led by Rob Hoskins and Alec Papadakis. Hoskins, the Chairman of NuRock Soccer Holdings, is one of the country's most respected and largest real estate developers in residential housing, and brings his valuable management and branding experience to the soccer industry.
Papadakis, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner of NuRock Soccer Holdings, is a franchise attorney with domestic and international expansion experience. Papadakis had a long and storied soccer career in the United States at the collegiate and professional level before attending law school at the University of Akron and working locally with the Wolstein family.
Following the acquisition, USL announced the restructuring of its executive management team. Hoskins will serve as Chairman with Papadakis being named CEO. USL's Tim Holt has been promoted from Executive Vice President to President and USL founder Francisco Marcos will transition to the position of President Emeritus and Senior Director of International Development.
The Cleveland City Stars organization is in full support of the newly restructured USL and is behind NuRock in its efforts to strengthen the league.
"Having met personally with Alec Papadakis last week, we are excited about the vision and leadership that he brings to the USL," said Cleveland City Stars Executive Director Aaron Tredway. "We expect nothing less than great things for this league and soccer in the U.S. as we now move forward together."
With the sale of the Cleveland City Stars franchise pending, the future of professional soccer in Cleveland still looks promising.
"We have now moved into serious discussions with several prospective ownership groups," said Tredway. "The plan from the beginning was to strengthen the franchise going forward in order to provide the Cleveland City Stars the best possible environment for continued success in years to come. With NuRock taking over the league, everything is beginning to take shape and I am optimistic that we will see our goal come to fruition."
The City Stars recently concluded the home portion of the inaugural season in the USL First Division. The season concludes with a three-game road trip trough Portland and Vancouver September 13th-18th.
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USL First Division Stories from September 9, 2009
- Late Goal Drops Whitecaps - Vancouver Whitecaps
- Byers' Late Goal Lifts Impact - Montreal Impact
- Timbers' Keel Earns Team Of The Week Honors - Portland Timbers
- City Stars Support NuRock Ownership Group During League Transition - Cleveland City Stars
- Week 22 USL-1 honors announced - USL-1
- Tickets For The Playoffs On Sale Friday - Montreal Impact
- Leo Inacio Named to the USL-1 Team of the Week - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
- Dusty Hudock to undergo season-ending surgery - Charleston Battery
- Battery squares off with Blues - Charleston Battery
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